Russian Patriarch greeted by 3,000 Orthodox believers in Rivne

5. August 2009 - 9:16

Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill of Moscow, was greeted by 3,000 Orthodox believers during a visit on Aug. 3 to Rivne, western Ukraine.

Patriarch Kirill arrived in the city by a car at about 13:45 from the district administrative center of Korets.In Rivne he visited the lower hall of the Holy Resurrection cathedral, which is run by the Moscow-run Ukrainian Orthodox Church.Patriarch Kirill presented an icon to the cathedral and made a 10-minute address to the Orthodox believers and called for the churches to be united."I have visited your catacombs and remember first Christians, as the church came out from catacombs too," Kirill said.He left for the village of Horodok in Rivne district to visit a monastery there.As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus arrived in Ukraine for visit on July 27. The visit is to last until August 5.The trip to Rivne was scheduled for August 2, but it was canceled later.According to a posting on the Web site covering the visit of Patriarch Kirill to Ukraine, the visit was canceled on advise from the Ukrainian authorities.The Secretariat of President Viktor Yuschenko denied involvement in this advice.According to the press service of the Ministry of Interior Affairs, a decision to change the route of the trip of Patriarch Kirill has been made by representatives of the Russian side responsible for the security of the patriarch.